A free-association word task was used. Participants completed three recorded trials which were then replayed to allow the identification of any associations where an involuntary autobiographical memory had come to mind. Self-report measures of schizotypy and anxiety were completed.
All participants retrieved at least one IAM from the three free-association word trials, with 70%experiencing two or more IAMs. Individuals scoring high in schizotypy reported more IAMs than those who scored low. Over 75%of the memories retrieved were neutral or positive in content.
The current study is an improvement on previous methodologies used to assess IAMs. However, bias due to retrospective recall remains a possibility.
Individuals scoring high in schizotypy are vulnerable to an increased level of neutral intrusive memories which may be associated with a 鈥榖aseline鈥?level of information-processing which is low in contextual integration.